Minister of National Infrastructures, Binyamin Ben Eliezer (Fuad), met yesterday (Tues.) with Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Dr. Hilmi Guler, during Ben Eliezer's three-day political / economic visit in Turkey. The two discussed several matters, chief among them the project of the infrastructure corridor between Turkey and Israel (Med Stream.)

At the meeting, the hosts presented to Minister Ben Eliezer the preliminary feasibility study prepared by the Italian company ENI SpA and the Turkish company Calik Holding AS, after the two ministers had signed an understanding agreement in December 2006.

The feasibility study for the Med Stream project examined the possibility of building a corridor of infrastructures between the Turkish port of Ceyhan on Iskanderon Bay in south east Turkey to Haifa, a distance of some 460 km. As it appears from the survey, the possibility currently being examined is the laying of 5 underwater pipelines between the two countries, including: crude oil, natural gas, electricity, water and communications (a new item which has only recently been considered and discussed.)

As part of the preliminary study, several meetings and discussions were held with some of the world's leading planning and construction companies in the fields of oil, natural gas, electricity and water. The main conclusion of the study team is that the project is economically viable.

The preliminary study considered several alternatives for the delivery of energy from Turkey to Israel, including  crude oil (20 – 50 million tons a year) natural gas (4 – 10 BCM), electricity (4,200 MW) and water (400 – 1,000 m. cubic meters a year.)

The oil pipeline would be a continuation of: 1. The BTC pipeline (Baku – Tbilisi – Ceyhan) from the Caspian Sea, and / or 2. The Samsun pipeline (North Turkey to the shores of the Black Sea) – Jihan – a project which is expected to be completed by 2010.

The natural gas pipeline would be the continuation of: 1. the BTE natural gas pipeline (Baku – Tbilisi –Erzerum) which conveys Azerian gas from the immense reservoirs of the Caspian Sea (the Shah – Deniz gas field); another option being considered is that in the future it would convey Kazakh and / or Turkmen gas; and / or 2. The Blue Stream pipeline which delivers Russian gas via the Black Sea.

Project costs are estimated at 2 – 4.5 billion dollars, according to the number of pipes laid and the scope of products delivered.

The ministers agreed that professional teams from both ministries would promptly embark on drafting a framework agreement for a comprehensive feasibility study of the project. The Turkish team is expected to arrive within the next few days and meet with Infrastructures Ministry staff and with the relevant government companies.

The ministers further agreed that, once the framework agreement is worked out, an agreement would be signed between Turkey and Israel, following which a comprehensive feasibility study would be carried out, expected to take about a year and to cost about 30 million dollars. The study will examine all detailed planning aspects of the project, and once it is completed the project can be embarked upon. Execution of the project is estimated to spread out over about three years; the current target date for its completion is 2012 – 2013.

In the coming days the two countries will also consider the possibility of having India join the agreement. India is interested in taking part, mainly because of its need of crude oil. In the near future the energy ministers of the three countries are expected to meet, in order to formulate and sign a political agreement similar to the political framework agreement signed between Israel and Egypt on the eve of signing the natural gas agreement with the Egyptian company EMG.

Minister of Infrastructures Ben Eliezer congratulated his Turkish colleague on being elected for a second term as Minister of Energy, and also expressed his regret over the conflicts which Turkey is currently involved in on its south eastern border with Iraq, opposite the Kurdish insurgents in the region.

The minister of National Infrastructures is expected to meet in the coming months with representatives from several countries in the region, including: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Russia, in order to reach agreements about securing Israel's energy sources.